


everything you could ever want is in my arms

by wafflesofdoom



Category: Emmerdale
Genre: Established Relationship, Falling In Love, First Dates, M/M, Non-Chronological
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-02
Updated: 2017-07-20
Packaged: 2018-11-22 09:10:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 5,598
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11377071
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wafflesofdoom/pseuds/wafflesofdoom
Summary: aaron sometimes still couldn't believe it, that after all this time, after so many months being hopelessly in love with the unattainable robert sugden, robert washisboyfriend.or, a series of boyfriend era ficlets, because we don't have enough of those.





	1. (second) first time pillow talk

 

 

If Robert was honest, he wasn’t entirely sure what to do with himself, now he’d done the awkward cleanup, condom wrapped in tissue and thrown into Aaron’s bin, his boyfriend lying in bed, under the covers now.

Easing his boxers over his hips, Robert settled under Aaron’s duvet with him, figuring it would feel less odd if he just went with it.

(The sex hadn’t been odd, that had been  _perfect_ , but the aftermath of their hookups had always been getting quickly dressed, and Robert going back to his life with Chrissie, but his life was here now, with Aaron - so they had some new post-sex habits to learn.)

Propping his head up with his hand, Robert looked at Aaron intently. “Are you okay?” he asked, genuinely asking. It had taken them a while, to take the next step, to have sex, and well - Robert wanted to make sure Aaron was okay, like really, completely okay.

“I’m not broken, Robert,” Aaron shook his head, duvet pulled up around his chest, his hair sweaty and plastered to his forehead. “Of course I’m okay.”

“I just wanted to be sure,” Robert said. “This - this was big, you know?”

He wasn’t sure how to phrase what he wanted to say, wasn’t sure how you put that sort of question into words that wouldn’t hurt, or harm, because that was the last thing Robert wanted to do.

Aaron was quiet for a second, thoughtful. “It was a little overwhelming,” he admitted, shifting a little closer to Robert. “And not because of  _him_ , because it’s you, Robert, and I never thought I was going to get to have this with you again.”

Robert let out a breath he hadn’t realised he’d been holding, the niggling worry he’d felt as he’d come down from his orgasm, to a serious expression on Aaron’s face, gone. “So it was okay?”

Aaron snorted. “Do you want me to stroke your ego or summat?” he questioned, poking at Robert’s stomach. “You know how I feel about sex with you.”

Robert grinned. “Remind me.”

“You can fuck off if you just want me to tell you about how good you are in bed,” Aaron rolled his eyes, checking the time on his phone, the artificial light harsh in his dimly lit room, the two of them illuminated only by Aaron’s bedside lamps, something soft, and romantic about the lighting. “It’s late.”

Robert squinted at his watch, shrugging slightly. “I don’t feel like sleeping,” he admitted, energy coursing through his veins. He’d thought about this, being with Aaron again, getting to have sex with him again, a lot.

They’d been back together for well over a month and a half now, and they’d done stuff, sure - hurried handjobs in the morning, swallowing each other’s moans with desperate kisses, starting slow, slower than their relationship had ever been, but this, tonight, it had been their first time.

Second first time, if the world would allow Robert a second to be unbearably cheesy, because everything about it had felt like a second chance at a first, the slow movements, the lingering touches.

Robert had fallen in love all over again, as he’d been able to watch Aaron’s forehead crease up, expression heavy with pleasure as Robert did what he’d always done best with Aaron, take him apart with his hands, his mouth, his  _dick_.

They’d always gotten the sex part right, even if they’d never done much else right, and Robert was glad, really, that they’d taken so much time to get to know each other again over the past few weeks, before they brought sex back into their relationship.

Everything felt more real, this time around.

Because it  _was_  real, he supposed.

“Me neither,” Aaron admitted, shuffling a little closer, legs tangling with Robert’s. His skin was warm, against Robert’s bare chest, the soft material of his boxers brushing against his thighs, making the hairs there stand on end.

Robert moved, grinning at the undignified huff that Aaron let out as Robert forced him to move a little, so he could hook an arm under him, and around his back, pulling him close to his chest.

He didn’t much feel like leaving any space between them, not tonight.

Aaron wrapped his arms around Robert’s back, digging his chin into Robert’s shoulder. “I’m really glad we’re doing this,” he said quietly, Robert able to count his every breath, feel the rise and fall of his boyfriend’s chest against his own, Aaron’s heartbeat regular, and  _real_. “I’m glad we’re giving ourselves a real chance.”

“I’m sorry I couldn’t give it to you sooner,” Robert said, practically breathing the words into Aaron’s ear, apologies tinging his every word. He’d never be able to make up for all the things he’d done, all the ways he’d done wrong by Aaron, but moments like this, where he could hold him close and make him feel  _good_ , and  _safe_ , well - it felt like the universe was giving him a chance to do something worthwhile with his life, do something  _good_.

(Loving Aaron was something good, something that gave him the confidence, the strength, to be the person he’d refused to ever be,  _out_ , and happy, and maybe proud, one day soon.)

“You’re here now,” Aaron replied, pressing his lips to the cool skin of Robert’s shoulder, his grip on Robert’s back tightening.

Robert pulled the duvet up around them a bit more, lips pressed to the side of Aaron’s head. “I’m always going to be here for you, Aaron - from now on. There’s nowhere else I’d want to be.”

Aaron was quiet for a second, before he laughed, the sound shockingly loud and  _brilliant_  in the otherwise quiet room. “I didn’t realise sex made you so soppy,” he teased, Robert rolling his eyes good-naturedly in response.

“Quit the teasing,” Robert drawled, sleep finally feeling as though it was going to come, his eyes fluttering shut. “Or I’m not going to bother rocking your world like I just did ever again.”

 

 

 


	2. netflix & takeaway

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> robert suggests a night in with some netflix and takeout.

 

 

 

 

Aaron’s nursing a pint at a corner table, when Robert slides into the seat across from him, looking windswept and altogether happy with himself, a bright grin on his face. “Hiya,” he greeted, unable to keep the tiredness from his voice. It had been a  _long_  day, Aaron singlehanded up at the scrapyard, Adam and Victoria on a long weekend away.

“You alright?” Robert was immediately concerned, able to read Aaron like a book, like all it was ever going to take was a few weeks of dating for him to  _know him_ ,  _get him_   the way he always had during the affair.

“Tired,” Aaron admitted, swirling the remnants of his pint around the glass. “I just need a quiet night.”

“Then I’ve got you covered,” Robert was grinning again, leaning forward on his elbows. “You, me, Netflix and some takeaway. What do you say?”

Aaron had to admit it sounded better than his original plan for the evening of stealing a pie from Marlon in the kitchen, and heading to bed early with a pint. Liv was over at Gabby’s, and out of his hair for the evening, and Robert had said he’d be in Leeds late for meetings.

Wait.

His boyfriend was supposed to be in Leeds, not sitting with him in the Woolpack.

“How did your meetings go?” Aaron asked, confused. “I thought you were going to be late.”

Robert shrugged, reaching up to unbutton the top of his shirt. “I got the contract signed early,” he explained, leaning back in his chair. “I wanted to come back and spend some time with you, I feel like I’ve barely see you this week.”

It had been a busy week, a busy week at the scrapyard, a busy week with Liv.

“Didn’t you have to wine and dine them?” Aaron inquired, wondering why he hadn’t come back oozing his usual charm, too worked up over his success to turn it off.

“Yeah, but I’d rather spend my Friday evening with you,” Robert said, as if it were the more normal thing in the world.

Well, it  _was_  normal, Aaron supposed, to want to spend time with your boyfriend, but he wasn’t exactly used to being Robert’s first choice, being the person Robert wanted to spend all his Tuesday mornings and Friday evenings (and every day in between) with.

“So what do you say?” Robert nudged, Aaron clearly having been lost in his thoughts for longer than he’d realised. “Adam and Victoria are away, we’ve got the house to ourselves - no Liv. It could be a proper night in, slobbing out on the couch, watching a film.”

It sounded like  _heaven_ , if he was honest. A quiet house, some greasy Chinese food, a trashy film, and his boyfriend all to himself - well, it took everything Aaron had not to jump out of his seat and head for Keepers, there and then.

“It’s a Friday night,” Aaron decided to question him one last time, wonder if he’d rather go for a meal. “Don’t you want to go out?”

“I told you,” Robert rolled his eyes. “I want to be with you, spend some time with you - no distractions.”

“Thinking with your dick then,” Aaron teased, not wanting to give away how much Robert’s words had affected him. He could be affected by it now, melt into Robert’s touch and have the whole pub know how in love he was, but old habits died hard, he supposed, and a part of him was still on the lookout for Chrissie.

Robert waggled his eyebrows, a childish expression that made him look absolutely ridiculous, and not in the  _least_ bit sexy. “Maybe I am,” he grinned. “It’s not my fault you’re ridiculously hot, is it?”

Aaron grinned, and downed his pint in one, jerking his head toward the door. “Go on then, it’s not like I’ve got anything better to do.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

They ate too much, in the end, to even  _want_  to have sex, a family deal from Dominos demolished by the two of them (cookies and ice cream and all, because go big or go home, Robert had decided, phone in hand as he’d ordered them in some pizza), and they’d ended up spending the evening sprawled on Victoria’s violently pink couch, making jokes about the bad acting and the fake explosions of whatever action film they’d shoved on Netflix, Aaron settled between Robert’s legs, the two of them the picture of domesticity.

If this was what loving Robert Sugden, really loving him, no affair, no hiding in barns and falling in love in dark corners, was going to feel like, well, Aaron could happily spend the rest of his Friday evenings with his boyfriend.

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i was going to call this one netflix and chill but i hated myself a little for even thinking it.


	3. out and proud

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> aaron is shocked, when robert suggests they go on a very public first date.

 

 

 

 

Robert arrives like a whirlwind, to the scrapyard, wearing that deep navy coloured suit that make Aaron’s heart skip a beat (however cliche that might be), a pink tie neatly knotted at his throat.

There was something so delicious about his boyfriend in a suit, Robert oozing confidence in that same old way that Aaron had always found incredibly sexy, expect that Robert was  _his_  now, he could leer and stare all he wanted, and not have to worry about anyone noticing, finding out about the affair.

“Hiya,” Robert greeted, sliding into his desk chair. They were still figuring out their boundaries with PDA, wondering what and where was okay, and it was fine, really, that they hadn’t quite figured it out yet.

Aaron sometimes wondered how he’d react if Robert just kissed him at work, as if their relationship was the most natural thing in the world, because however right it felt, they couldn’t shake off their past, the places they’d started, that easily.

They would, one day - just, not three weeks into their very new, and very tentative relationship. They were acting like they were thirteen, all over again, doing nothing more than trading soft kisses, and sharing a bed to do nothing more than sleep - but Aaron needed slow, and whether or not Robert would admit it, he needed slow too.

This was the first time in Robert’s life he was out, after all (and maybe proud, Aaron wasn’t so sure, sometimes.)

“Hiya,” Aaron replied, giving him a sincere smile. “Good day?”

Robert nodded, leaning back in his chair. “You know me, love the sound of my own voice,” he grinned. “What are you up to tonight?”

“Nothing much, why?”

“Dunno,” Robert shrugged, fiddling with some paperwork on his desk. “I fancied doing summat with you.”

“We can just hang out at mine, then, mum and Charity are working tonight - hen party, I think.”

Robert gave him a funny look. “You what?”

“I….” Aaron trailed off, embarrassed. “I figured you’d want to stay at mine.”

“Do you think I don’t want to be seen with you, or something?” Robert asked, leaning forward in his chair, brow furrowed.

Aaron swallowed, suddenly uncomfortable. “I forgot,” he admitted, voice barely more than a whisper. “I forgot that you were seeing me, now - and not Chrissie.”

Robert looked at him, eyes  _wide_ , and  _sad_ , as though he knew the full extent of all the hurt he’d caused, as if he could look right into Aaron’s mind and see the uncertainty, see how unsure Aaron was of everything.

He stood up, crossing the portacabin in a few short steps, tugging Aaron up out of his chair. “I’m your boyfriend,” he said firmly, hands on Aaron’s waist. His eyes were sincere, the same way they’d been that night they’d kissed in the backroom, when they’d promised to give this,  ** _them_** , a real go. “I want to take you on dates, and show you off.”

Aaron ducked his head, cheeks bright red. “Yeah, alright,” he shook his head, wriggling out of Robert’s grip. He wasn’t so sure of how to deal with this, Robert being a  _boyfriend_.

“I’m serious, Aaron,” Robert said, tugging at his sleeve. “I’m serious about you.”

Aaron hated the tears that welled up in his eyes as he looked at Robert, saw the genuine sincerity in his eyes. “I know,” he managed to say, biting into the skin of his lower lip.

“Let me prove it to you,” Robert said, cupping the back of Aaron’s neck, pulling him in for a soft, chaste kiss. “Let me take you out on a date - tonight.”

“Okay,” Aaron squeezed his eyes shut, letting himself revel in the feeling of  _Robert_ , of being wrapped up in his arms, Robert’s lips against his cheek. “Yeah, okay.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robert had come to his door, dressed in a deep maroon coloured shirt, leather jacket on, and a bright grin on his face. Aaron had laughed, at the knock on the door and the old school picking someone up for a date thing, but he’d gone along with it ( _until Robert had tried to open the car door for him, and then he’d threatened to batter him._ )

It hadn’t really sunk in that they were on a date, like a real, proper date until they were sitting in a restaurant in Hotten, Robert glowing under the dim lights of the restaurant, menu in hand.

It wasn’t anything fancy.

It was a new burger place, one Aaron had been to before with Adam, and a few of his old mates from when he used to be a more regular customer at Bar West, but somehow, it felt infinitely more special, sitting in a booth with Robert across from him, Robert’s foot hooked around his ankle, as though it was the most normal thing in the world to do.

“I can’t decide,” Robert admitted, looking up from the menu, a look of pure concentration on his face. “You’ve been here before, right?”

Aaron nodded, finding it hard to find  _words_ , finding it hard to believe they were really dong this. “Everything is good,” he said, not having given the menu a single glance since they’d sat down.

“You alright?”

He knew.

Of course he did. Robert was developing this uncanny ability to read Aaron’s emotions, know there was something off without Aaron having to say a word.

“I wanted this for so long,” Aaron admitted, messing with the packets of ketchup and vinegar on the table, the shiny paper slipping between his fingers as he counted a beat, and then five more, before he continued. “I don’t know how to deal with it all now it’s real.”

Robert put a hand over his, the gesture the kind of public affection that Aaron had craved for so long. “I don’t know, either,” he admitted, a shy smile appearing on his face. “But we’ll figure it out.”

Aaron loved him.

He’d loved Robert for so long, he’d forgotten how it felt to not love him - but in that moment, sitting in a pokey restaurant in Hotten, Aaron wasn’t sure he’d ever loved him more.

Funny, how one date became the promise of something so much more - a forever after, if you’d forgive the cliche.

(Aaron was using a lot of cliche phrases, lately - but maybe thats what  ** _real_**  love did to a person.)

 

 

 

 


	4. boyfriends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> aaron overhears robert refer to him as his boyfriend, and has a bit of a moment.

 

 

 

 

 

Aaron’s late, to meet Robert. He was supposed to be meeting him at the cafe on Hotten’s main street at twelve, Robert adamant they were going to have a nice lunch together, and he was late.

The traffic had been mad, in Aaron’s defence. He’d left Emmerdale in plenty of time, and had gotten stuck behind a tractor ten minutes out of the village. He was out of breath, by time he’d parked around the corner and jogged down the road to the cafe, his cheeks red with the effort of trying to get there on the acceptable side of late.

Robert was sitting with his back to the door, hunched over at a little window table, Aaron spying a book in front of him. Aaron couldn’t help but smile, as he looked at Robert, his boyfriend focused on whatever novel he was reading this week.

They’d been back together a month, and Aaron had practically seen him with a new book in hand every single time they’d met up, or gone on a date - or when Robert had stayed over, a book sitting alongside his overnight bag.

Before he could cross the busy cafe, and say hi to him, a woman approached his little table.

“Is this seat free?” she asked, bright smile on her face as she stood, coffee and sandwich in hand. “It’s just that it’s really busy, and - well, you look like you could use some company.”

Robert shook his head, his voice clear, carrying through the cafe as he spoke. “I’m actually waiting for my boyfriend,” he said apologetically, carefully marking his place in his book.

 _Boyfriend_.

He’d only heard Robert refer to him as his boyfriend a handful of times, since they’d gotten back together, and so the rush, the excitement - it still felt brand new, like it was a word he’d never get used to.

He was Robert Sugden’s  _boyfriend_.

Aaron had wanted it for so long, he couldn’t help but take a second to admire how easily the word fell from Robert’s lips, how casually he referred to Aaron as his, as  ** _his_**  boyfriend.

It felt a little silly, to be so starstruck by a simple word, but Aaron was - starstruck, stunned,  _overwhelmed._

“Hiya, sorry I’m late,” Aaron decided to step in and save Robert from any further conversation, leaning in to press a kiss to Robert’s cheek. They were finding their way, with PDA, but a full on snog in a busy cafe didn’t feel like  _them_.

Not yet, at least.

Robert beamed at him, closing his book properly now. “It’s okay, I’ve not been here long myself,” he reassured, eyes on Aaron,  _focus_  on Aaron, like he hadn’t even noticed how the woman’s face had fallen, how she’d quietly apologised as she’d walked away from their table.

Aaron slid into the seat across from him, glancing at the menu. It was a very Robert choice for lunch, menu’s attached to little clipboards, wildflowers shoved into little mason jars on their table, but the food smelled good, and he was  _starving_.

“What’s good here?” he asked, unable to hide his grin as Robert nudged his foot against Aaron’s, the two of them browsing the menu.

“Everything,” Robert said, his eyes a brighter green than usual, hair glinting in the early afternoon sunlight that was streaming through the windows of the cafe. He looked like a bloody model, as though he could be on a brochure for foodie hotspots in Hotten. “You’d like the steak sandwich, though.”

“You buying n’all then, seeing as you’re trying to get me to go for the most expensive thing on the menu?” Aaron teased, setting the menu down, deciding to go with Robert’s recommendation.

“Anything for my boyfriend.”

 _Boyfriend_.

There it was again, that word that set Aaron’s heart racing, a simple nine letter word that was changing Aaron’s whole life now, day by day. He had a boyfriend, a  _serious_  boyfriend, and that boyfriend was  ** _Robert_** , the one person he thought he’d never have for himself.

And said boyfriend was buying him lunch.

Life didn’t get much better, really.

 

 

 

 


	5. i'm with you

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> aaron sees chrissie for the first time since he and robert got back together, and old habits of hiding their love die hard,

 

 

 

 

They’d made it two weeks.

Two quiet, tentative,  _exciting_ weeks. Aaron had never imagined the first few weeks of their relationship would be like this, but it was nice,  _really_  nice. They were rediscovering all the things they used to know about each other, beginning to figure out how they’d be in a real relationship.

They’d always been a secret, before, meeting in cold barns and under different names in faraway hotels, but now they were out in the open, giving whatever it was between them a real go, and it was  _good._

Weird, weird to be able to be out in the open with Robert, but good.

“Your mum’s perfected the death glare when it comes to me,” Robert commented, setting two pints down on their table, nudging a hip toward Aaron so he’d take the two packet of crisps he had stuffed in his jacket pocket.

“I could say summat to her,” Aaron offered, grinning as he realised Robert had gotten him cheese and onion without even having to ask, the bright blue of the salt and vinegar packet he’d gotten for himself being ripped open as soon as Robert sat down next to him (next to him, not across from him.)

“Nah, s’alright,” Robert said through a mouthful of crisps, giving a slight shrug. “I probably deserve it.”

“You are a bit of dick, to be fair,” Aaron joked, slouching in his seat as he tucked into his crisps, enjoying the calm, quiet of the pub. It was early on a Friday evening, the two of them having skived off work a few hours early, just to have a pint and spend some time together.

Do the sort of things boyfriends did, Aaron supposed.

“You’re hilarious,” Robert rolled his eyes, Aaron instantly distracted as Robert licked the foam of his pint from his upper lip, blatantly staring. “What?”

“You, uh - nothing,” Aaron shook his head, not wanting to admit he’d been checking him out.

“You were staring at my mouth.”

“Wasn’t.”

“You were,” Robert grinned wickedly, leaning in a little closer - close enough for it to set Aaron’s heart racing. It wasn’t common knowledge in the village yet, that they were together - people knew, of course, but Aaron hadn’t climbed on the bar to announce he was seeing Robert Sugden just yet. “You fancy a snog or something?”

“Not from you, your breath is rank after them crisps,” Aaron shook his head, licking some of the cheese and onion flavouring from his fingers.

Robert snorted. “Because yours is better,” he rolled his eyes, chucking his half eaten crisps on the table, swallowing a burp. “You fancy doing something this weekend?”

“Like what?”

“Dunno, like a proper date or something,” Robert shrugged, pretending as though he hadn’t thought this through a thousand times in his head already (Aaron knew him too well, even now, only after a few weeks.)

“You’ve clearly thought of something to do.”

“There’s a new restaurant opening in Leeds,” Robert admitted, reaching for his pint again. “It’s some steakhouse, you’d like it. I figured we could make a proper day of it, you know? Go to the cinema n’all, hit the shops.”

Aaron didn’t want to admit how good a day out with Robert sounded, even if he was intending to drag him  _shopping_ , but he had Liv to think about. “What about Liv?” he asked, knowing his little sister would run ragged if left alone for the entire day.

“Your mum could look after her?” Robert suggested hopefully.

She’d probably say yes, if Aaron asked, but wasn’t that just shirking all responsibility after only a few weeks?

Aaron looked at Robert, took in the hopeful expression on his face, the eager smile, and he couldn’t say no. “I’ll ask her later,” he nodded, knowing a day out with Robert would be worth it.

They hadn’t exactly had much time for just  _them_.

Before their conversation could continue, Aaron noticed Chrissie arriving in the pub, and he couldn’t help but  _stiffen_ , his automatic reaction to move away from Robert, put as much distance between them as possible.

Robert’s brow furrowed as Aaron moved away, and he glanced over his shoulder, noticing Chrissie. “Aaron…..” he said quietly, leaning in close. “I’m with you.”

Aaron couldn’t stop the way his leg was bouncing, the way his heart had started to race. “I know,” he nodded, gaze flickering over toward Chrissie, watching the way Robert’s all too glamorous ex-wife was standing at the bar, aimlessly chatting with Lawrence. “I’m not used to not having to hide with you, I guess.”

Robert put a hand on Aaron’s knee, giving it a gentle squeeze. “We’re never going to have to hide again,” he said, voice quiet, reassuring, as though he needed to make himself believe it too.

Aaron bit the side of his lip, hating how it felt as though all eyes were on them. He knew no one was looking, knew no one really cared, but he still felt  _nervous_ , and  _unsure_ , as he leaned in, pressing a quick kiss to the corner of Robert’s mouth.

“Tell me more about this restaurant in Leeds, then.”

 

 

 

 

 

 


	6. quiet conversations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> getting to know each other all over again was the best part.

 

 

 

 

Robert had stayed over often enough for it to be a routine, now. It was still early days, still those tentative first weeks where they were just getting used to each other again, mapping out the territory of their new relationship, but they were starting to build a sort of routine, and it had started with Aaron suggesting Robert leave some clothes at his.

Until now, Robert had been heading back to Victoria’s to shower and change after spending the night at Aaron’s, but now he had a drawer of Aaron’s dresser for some clean clothes and underwear, a set of pyjamas to sleep in so he could stop borrowing Aaron’s too-short tracksuit bottoms, and a random mess of his face-wash and moisturiser, and toothbrush, sitting on one of the lockers.

It felt  _real_.

There was a lot they hadn’t done yet, as a couple, there was a lot Aaron still wasn’t ready for, but Robert couldn’t bring himself to care, if he was honest. What they had now, it was so much  _more_ , the nights they would stay up and just talk, and learn all the things they’d never had time to learn about each other during the affair.

It felt  _good_.

It was past one am, now, the Woolpack quiet, pub shut for the evening, the rest of the Dingles who called the pub home in bed. He and Aaron had gone for a few pints, after work, and watched a shitty film in the backroom before they’d decided to go to bed, Aaron asking if he was going to stay with a hopeful smile on his face.

It was a new expression, one Robert hadn’t seen before, at least. Aaron would bite his lip slightly, looking at him with wide eyes and an almost  _shy_  smile, inquiring if he was going to head back to Victoria’s for the night.

_As if._

Robert didn’t want to be anywhere Aaron wasn’t.

Shifting slightly so he was lying on his side, looking at Aaron intently. “Where’s your dream place to go on holiday?” he asked, continuing their new nightly routine of twenty questions, asking each other all the things couples  **should** know about each other.

Aaron looked thoughtful, hair still damp against his forehead. He’d gone for a shower, before bed, his usual routine, Robert had noticed - he’d always been a shower in the morning guy, himself, but Aaron had shrugged and admitted he liked to wash the day off.

“Ibiza,” Aaron said, decisive.

Robert snorted. “Ibiza? You’re such a lad!”

Aaron rolled his eyes. “Alright, you wanker,” he shook his head. “What’s wrong with Ibiza? It’s got the sun, the alcohol….”

“The girls,” Robert mocked, earning himself a shove from Aaron.

“Haha.” Aaron rolled his eyes. “I went there once, you know.”

“Yeah?”

Aaron nodded. “Best holiday I’ve ever been on,” he admitted. “First time in my life I felt like I could be happy.”

“Why?” Robert asked, genuinely curious. He’d never much been interested in going to Ibiza, if he was honestly - he’d done the posh resorts in Spain, and Italy, with Chrissie, holidayed in Greece with mates once, when he was twenty one, but he’d never been too bothered about going to Ibiza.

“There was no hassle, no problems,” Aaron shrugged. “I got to hang out on the beach and drink with my mates, felt like a proper teenager.”

Robert gave him a soft smile. “I might not be up for Ibiza, but we should go on holiday,” he nudged, reaching across the space between them in Aaron’s bed, tangling their fingers together.

“Where?”

Robert thought for a second, thought of all the places in the world he wanted to see, all the places he wanted to go with Aaron. “Anywhere,” he declared. “Anywhere where I can have ya all to myself.”

Aaron laughed, really, genuinely laughed, and before Robert could tease him for it, Liv was banging down their dividing wall.

“Could you shut the fuck up?” she yelled. “Some of us have to go to school in the morning, I don’t need to here you two idiots talking all night again.”

Robert barely covered his laughter, burying his face in the pillow as he laughed. Liv had given them nothing but shit that morning because of how loud they’d been talking the previous night (and not for the first time, either, to be fair) and she was clearly losing the rag now.

“Sorry!” Aaron yelled back, his smile not dropping for a single second as he reached for his duvet, yanking it up over their heads.

“I feel like a teenager again,” Robert admitted, glancing up at the blue material that was covering their heads. He remembered nights when he’d hide under his duvet, playing his gameboy late into the night, hoping the blanket would muffle the noise, so Jack wouldn’t notice and take his gameboy away (again.)

“She says we’re like giggly teenagers, to be fair,” Aaron said, shifting closer to Robert, their noises inches apart.

He liked getting to be this close to Aaron, know him in all these new, intimate ways. “It’s only because we’re happy and she’s jealous,” he joked, gauging Aaron’s reaction as he placed a hand on his hip.

Robert didn’t want to risk pushing him too far.

“Jealous?” Aaron raised an eyebrow.

“I make you laugh,” Robert said, by way of explanation, hand still on Aaron’s hip, just holding him close. “And your laugh is kind of the best sound in the world, if I’m honest.”

“Shut up,” Aaron rolled his eyes, pushing the palm of his hand against Robert’s face.

“Nope, never,” Robert shook his head, voice barely more than a whisper now, not wanting to draw the wrath of Liv on them again. She had absolutely zero qualms about banging their wall down, and waking the entire village. “I like making you laugh too much.”

Aaron smiled, his entire face crinkling up, eyes bright and looking  _relaxed_. After so many awful, harrowing weeks, it was good to just see him laugh, to know that Robert could make him  _forget_.

“Ironman or Captain America?” Robert asked, after a moments silence.

Aaron gave him a blank look, neither name registering with him.

“We only watched the Avengers last weekend!”

“Ah,” Aaron gave a slight nod, reaching out for Robert’s waist, bunching up his pyjama top under his fingers, hands warm against Robert’s cool skin. It was a comforting touch, more than it was anything else, and Robert couldn’t do anything but melt into his boyfriends arms. “Which was the really hot one with the blond hair?”

“Captain America,” Robert grinned, almost proud of his boyfriends choice. “He’s the best one.”

“I liked Fast and Furious better,” Aaron admitted, digging his chin into Robert’s shoulder, completely tangled up in him now, legs wrapped around Robert’s, arms around his waist.

Robert wasn’t sure he’d ever be able to sleep any other way, not now he knew what it felt like to curl up with Aaron like this, duvet over their heads as they talked, and chatted, and wasted precious hours of sleep just so they could keep  _talking_.

No, Robert wouldn’t be able to sleep any other way now.

Not when he knew what loving Aaron like this, for real,  _forever_ , felt like.

 

 

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> these were originally all prompted & posted on tumblr (where i'm capseycartwright!) but i wanted to put them into a little series on here, because i can't get enough of the boyfriend era, really.


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